Donald Trump Spokesperson Katrina Pierson Blames Obama for Capt. Humayun Khan's Death

Impact

According to Donald Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson, the death of U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan in 2004 can be blamed on President Barack Obama. At the time of Capt. Khan's death in Iraq, Obama was an Illinois senator — who was staunchly against the war.

"It was under Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton that changed the rules of engagement that probably cost his life," Pierson said to anchor Wolf Blitzer on CNN. 

Blitzer had been pressing Pierson on whether Trump had apologized to Capt. Khan's family for remarks he made following a speech by Khizr Khan, Capt. Khan's father, during the Democratic National Convention. 

After repeatedly dodging the question, Pierson decided to shift blame for the Republican presidential candidate's attacks onto Clinton and Obama.

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"But surely you can understand the confusion considering how Donald Trump never voted for the Iraq War," Pierson said. "Hillary Clinton did."

After Pierson's gaffe, Twitter predictably stepped in to call her out, and soon after, #KatrinaPiersonHistory began trending.

Trump has faced an avalanche of criticism from both the left and right for his attacks on the Gold Star family. Sen. John McCain came out perhaps most strongly against Trump, stating Trump's comments "do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers or candidates."